doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com AYA No. 4 Deluxe???

Happy New Year All,

I recently stumbled into a 2 barrel cased set in 28Ga. Barrels are 27" and one set is choked IC/M, the other is M/F. It is a box lock and the back of the frame is scalloped, it has drop points, double triggers and ejectors. The entire frame and triggers are nicely color cased. The frame is completely engraved. Wood appears to be upgraded. The barrels are numbered 1 and 2 in gold (the escutcheon appears to be gold as well) and the barrels are numbered to the frame.

Gun is a straight grip and goes about 5 1/4 pounds. Should be a delight in the field come Grouse season next year.

The gun came in a hard case with a factory label which had been re-stained a darker color on the exterior. As per the markings and a note from AYA the gun was built in 1978, unfortunately that is all AYA could tell me.

My confusion is that based on the scalloped frame, engraving covering the entire frame and drop points it would appear to be a a No. 4 Deluxe BUT it does not have an Articulated front trigger and from everything I found the Deluxe came with this feature. Can anyone tell me if in fact it is a Deluxe even thought it doesn't have the articulated trigger?

Have not had a chance to shoot the gun yet, hope too in the near future....

Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help!

Respectfully,
WBLDon

PM sent

Sure sounds like a 4 Deluxe. Not seen all that frequently because they've become nearly as expensive as the #2 sidelock. I've owned a pair of them in 12ga, as well as a 20ga. I think you could call them Spanish boxlock bests (assuming you're willing to accept "boxlock best" as not being a contradiction in terms.)

Absolutely sounds like a #4 DeLuxe. I had one in 28 ga with 26" barrels, but it had a single trigger so I can't comment on the non-articulating front trigger.

It was a very nice, well-engraved and finished gun which I picked up for a very low price in a private sale. The trigger was an issue as it doubled with some frequency... I ended up trading it in as part of deal for a 28 ga AyA #2 rounded action, with the proper number of triggers.

Sounds like you've found a very nice gun. Enjoy!

WBLDon
PM sent

Anyway you post pics?

The models have been continually tweeted over the years so it's very possible that some models have articulated triggers and some don't. AYA is very good about answering emails if you contact them.

Adam

Here are some pics for the folks that asked.... WBLDon

WBLDon,

Nice little gun!

It looks a lot like a friend's Orvis Uplander 28b (maybe late-1980s vintage) to me, and I believe that was a No. 4 Deluxe. And his does not have an articulated trigger, either.

I have an AYA catalog of about that vintage somewhere, I can dig it out if you like. I do recall that the No. 4 Deluxe is illustrated and described in it.

OK, I found the AYA catalog forwarded by Precision Sports, which is not dated, but the envelope is postmarked Jan. 1983. Your gun looks like what is cataloged then as the Model 4-A DELUXE.

The style of this piece reminds me of the AyA Best Quality Boxlock (BQB) of several years ago. It certainly had the scalloped back but maybe more extensive engraving ?. Memory is getting a bit rusty for these things

I had a friend who had a 16 gauge #4 Deluxe built as the ultimate pheasant gun. 29 1/2" barrels, stocked to his dimensions with a straight grip, splinter fore end with 2 triggers and a significant wood upgrade. It was an incredibly nice sxs and a wonderfully finished gun. It looks like you have found a treasure.
Regards,
Jeff